Page 2144 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 June 2018
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has turned out to be incorrect. The Assembly was then led to make a decision based on erroneous information. In addition to that, in making that decision, the Assembly has gone on to mislead the Governor-General in his process of making an appointment to fill a casual vacancy in the Australian Senate.
On 25 March 2015 the Chief Minister, Mr Barr, advised the Assembly that there was a vacancy in the Senate caused by the retirement of Senator Kate Lundy. In accordance with continuing resolution 9, the Chief Minister, Mr Barr, presented a statutory declaration made by Ms Gallagher, the former Chief Minister, and the former senator, stating that she was eligible to be chosen as a senator.
The Chief Minister then moved this motion:
That Katy Gallagher, a person who is eligible to be a senator and is of the same party of the Hon Kate Lundy whose place has become vacant, be chosen to fill the casual vacancy for senator for the Australian Capital Territory until the expiration of the term of the outgoing senator.
That question was put and passed. I had to seek advice from the Clerk about what happened next because to this day I do not have a clear view. The Clerk advised me that on the same day I wrote to the Chief Minister—I was the Speaker at the time—confirming the resolution, which I have just read out, and asking the Chief Minister to convey the determination of the Assembly to the Governor-General. Ms Gallagher was sworn in to the Senate the following day, on 26 March.
We have all become wise with hindsight, Madam Speaker. I do not want this to escalate into some partisan thing. This is not about the citizenship issue. It is not about former Senator Gallagher. It is about the processes in this place.
I do note that we have continuing resolution No 9. And I note that there has been some inquiry into this by the administration and procedure committee. I acknowledge that the administration and procedure committee in its report came to the conclusion that continuing resolution No 9 was more robust than any other system that exists in any other parliament filling a casual vacancy, because in many cases they have no system.
It is a credit to this Assembly and to the Clerk of the Assembly that, when the issue of a casual vacancy first arose in 2002 or early 2003, when Senator Reid vacated the Senate, the clerks and the Speaker at the time went about creating a process which has been pretty robust. The trouble is that it is not robust enough.
We made an appointment which the High Court has found was erroneous. This is not the place for putting forward recommendations for fixing that. I do acknowledge that. The Assembly has agreed to the fact that this matter would be looked at in the context of reviewing the standing orders. I think that some things can be done to make that process even more robust than it currently is.
My concerns here today are—and my concerns from the outset have been—that through inadvertence this Assembly and the Governor-General were misled. I repeat
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